Sunday, November 11, 2012

A weekender kind of weekend {take two}

This weekend we've had unseasonably warm temperatures, which gave me a chance to get outside and snap some pictures of my completed scrappy weekender!  It's definitely depressing knowing that outside photo shoots will have to be reserved for weekends now, as the sun has set by the time I'm home from work.  

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Anyways, without further ado, may I present Mr. Scrappy Weekender!  No disrespect to my first weekender, but this one is my favorite.  Like favorite favorite, hands down favorite bag I've ever made, and can even compete with my favorite quilts I've made.  Come to think of it, I guess it is the perfect marriage between a quilt and a bag.

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It also helps that because I used the quilt as you go method Elizabeth described in her post here, the only thing I had to buy to make this bag was the zipper and cording for the piping!  I had a bunch of left over canvas on hand from some tote bags I made awhile back, and fabric and batting scraps are certainly not hard to come by down in my sewing room.  Not that my first weekender wasn't worth it, but it became quite costly, after you buy 17 million yards of interfacing and all the fabric.

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For the main panels, I dug through my blue, green, grey and yellow scrap bins for piecing, and used Essex Linen in Grey for the piping and handles.

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I followed the pattern for the most part, but did make a few modifications that I picked up the last time.  First was to widen and lengthen the handles.  I added about 8" of length to each handle, which is the perfect "throw over your shoulder" handle length.  Last time I didn't widen the handles, but as this bag really can hold a lot and get quite heavy, I thought wider handles would make toting this bad boy around a little more comfortable.  To do this, I cut my handle width to 5" and then followed the instructions for construction as described in the pattern.  I also sewed my handles on a little differently, for a little more security, I actually sewed up each side of the handle to attach the entire handle to the bag, instead of just at 2 or 3 spots like the instructions describe.  Again, I think this will help with wear and tear over time.

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I also tricked Mr. Scrappy out with lots and lots of inside pockets.  I added one zipper pocket using this tutorial on the inside lining of one of the outer pockets, which will be great for securing travel documents for easy access when traveling.

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And one large zipper pocket on one of the inside lining panels, and then constructed a separated pocket on the other side of the lining panel.  As for the lining, I've had this grey and white houndstooth fabric from Joann's in my stash for forever, and thought this would be a perfect use!  I did use some Pellon Shapeflex iron on interfacing for the lining, as I wanted to be sure the cotton quilting weight fabric could hold up with all the pockets.

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As far as construction goes, my only two real alterations were using stitch witchery to make the bias piping, and then machine stitching in my lining.  It's no secret I'm not a fan of hand sewing binding, so hand stitching in the lining to this big guy?  No thanks.  I did this on my first weekender, and it turned great, so I did it with this one as well.  I pinned my lining in place, and then machine stitched a line about 1/4" inch outside of the line of stitching which secures the zipper in place.  Especially with this scrappy stitchy version, I don' think it takes anything away from the finished look of the bag, and took a fraction of the time.

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For now Mr. Scrappy is hanging out on the floor in our bedroom so I can admire him any chance I can, I keep not so subtly hinting to the hubs that we now have to take a trip somewhere so I can take him out for a test drive!

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35 comments:

  1. Oh, I agree...this one is wonderful. I bought the pattern this weekend, and although I know I won't get to play with it until after the Holidays; I stratigizing as to what fabric I could use. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Wow, this turned out so great! I love the colors and how scrappy it is :) And, of course, the houndstooth lining :D

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  3. Stunning! It turned out so great.

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  4. Love, love, love this!!! Mr. Scrappy is so beautiful!

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  5. It looks great! Widening the handles is a good idea!

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  6. Just gorgeous. I love the scrappiness of it.

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  7. Love love love! I really like the idea of using scraps to make one of these.. Like you said they require so much fabric. You are making me want to make a 2nd!

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  8. Oh wow, Jess! It is gorgeous! Love it! And that houndstooth lining sent me over the edge. Great choice there!

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  9. Your bag is lovely, I love the fabric scraps you used.

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  10. Oh he looks fab, love the fabrics you chose, especially that wee typewriter panel!

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  11. Beautiful bag! This one is on my list for sure, and I keep seeing more and more great examples.

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  12. Beautiful...I have my fabric and pattern...now just need to take the plunge. I'll be thrilled if it comes out half as nice as yours!

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  13. This is beautiful. I love the typewriter and the mermaid on the same pocket, to die for! I have made a weekender and I will probably never make another one, but I am glad that I did it :)

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  14. This is a beautiful wonderful bag, Jessica! Love the inside pockets...

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  15. It's BEAUTIFUL! Love your little fussy cuts too. Great job Jessica!

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  16. This Weekender turned out just lovely! I really like your additional pockets too!

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  17. Jess its a fabulous bag! I need to get that pattern ASAP! I love the QAYG method as I have a bunch of 10" QAYG blocks (but need to make a bunch more to have a large quilt)... I also hate interfacing with a passion! That stuff is form the devil! :-)

    Thanks for the great inspiration! Cheers!

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  18. I love this bag! It would be my favorite too!

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  19. Hands down gorgeous! I want one of these bags so bad, but too afraid to tackle...

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  20. I've made this one too. I thought I was pretty creative on my fabric choice but you put mine to shame...That is sooo cool how you pre-quilted it too.

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  21. This is kind of making me want to make another Weekender. Whoa! Did I really just say that??

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  22. Jess, this is absolutely adorable!! I love the way your scraps go together and all your extra pockets. I also love the idea of not having to hand stitch the lining!

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  23. This is fabulous! Great work, and I love your fabric choices. Thank you for sharing your ideas on alterations with your handles and such. I need to get my hands on this pattern. =)

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  24. I saw this on Flickr earlier, and now I followed you over from Sew Modern Monday. Great take on the Weekender. I have on that my mother made for me; still trying to decide if I want to try it myself and make another!

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  25. Gorgeous!!!!!! It looks amazing, totally amazing! and I love how you call it a perfect marriage of a quilt and a bag. I so have to make me one now, thanks for the inspiration!

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  26. Fabulous bag. You definitely need a trip somewhere nice to show it off!

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  27. What a great job you did! The colors go together beautifully. You'll be in style wherever you travel!

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  28. This is amazing! I love all the prints and the quilting!

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  29. Looks fabulous !
    I love it too......well done.

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  31. Gorgeous! Perfect colour combo and look neat! Great work!

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  32. Oh wow, Mr Scrappy is amazing!! I hope you get a chance to take him away somewhere special over Christmas! Just so gorgeouslyfantasticalicious!

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